1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing corn oil.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the drymilling of maize the germ portion of the kernel is obtained as a by-product. Because the germ contains several materials including powdered starch, the mesh of filters becomes blocked when the miscella, which contains corn oil, is filtered. To prevent the blocking of the filter mesh, the germ is casually pelletized and then extracted. That is, the customary process for producing corn oil involves the tempering of cleaned maize by adding water in an amount of from 3 weight percent to 8 weight percent to the maize, milling the tempered maize, separating the germ fraction from the by-products which are obtained after separating the grits and other material, drying the germ portion, flaking and pelletizing the dried germ, and extracting corn oil from the pellets. However, this technique has the following drawbacks. The quality of the corn oil deteriorates when heated during drying. The oil extraction yield from the pellets is not high and the extraction of flakes during filtering results in blockage of the filter mesh because of the substantial amount of fines in the material being filtered. Moreover, the germ is not a good material from which to extract corn oil. A need, therefore, continues to exist for an improved technique of extracting corn oil from maize.